WILMINGTON,NC (WWAY) -- Three UNC Wilmington men's basketball players have asked for their official release. According to head coach Buzz Peterson the permission has been granted.

Sophomore guard Donte Morales, freshman guard KK Simmons and freshman guard Adam Smith have been given the green light to talk to other schools. As long as they keep their grades up they'll be able to transfer in good standing.

The departure of KK Simmons should not come as a major surprise. Simmons and head coach Buzz Peterson never seemed to be on the same page. In fact Simmons served a three game suspension in February for conduct detrimental to the team. "His conduct has to improve. I've got to have a good feeling for KK," Buzz Peterson said back in February. "It's a life lesson he needs to learn. When things don't go well we don't need to point fingers and blame others." Simmons started 12 games as a freshman, but he didn't even see any action on the court in Richmond in the CAA Tournament.

Over two seasons Donte Morales started 48 games for UNCW. He averaged just over 7 points a game his sophomore season.

The biggest shock of the three is clearly Adam Smith. His future at UNCW was bright. Smith was the second leading scorer for UNCW during the 2011-2012 season at 14 points a game. He led all freshman in the CAA in scoring. In fact Smith was only the ninth UNCW player to be named to the CAA-All Rookie squad.

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